Selena
Selana & Matilda's Best Friends (Selena & Matilda) Double Feature are a 1997 American biographical drama film about the life and career of the late Tejano music star Selena, a recording artist who was well known in the Mexican-American and Hispanic communities in the United States and Mexico before she was shot to death at the age of 23, and 1996 American fantasy film directed by Danny DeVito, based on the novel of the same name by Roald Dahl. The film was released by TriStar Pictures on August 2, 1996 and stars Mara Wilson, Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Embeth Davidtz, and Pam Ferris. The movie stars Jennifer Lopez as Selena, in her breakthrough role. Her father, Abraham Quintanilla, Jr., is played by Edward James Olmos and Constance Marie plays Marcella Ofelia Samora–Quintanilla. Plot On February 26, 1995, the date of Selena's last concert at the Houston Astrodome, Selena gets ready to perform, but is delayed when she can't find anything to wear. She looks into her suitcase and finds her famous purple bodysuit. Selena changes and is ready to go on stage. As she walks to the stage, she looks back at the parents, smiling. She walks out into the crowd and greets all her fans with a smile. Selena, now in a carriage, greets all her fans, waving and smiling. The lights go down and she is ready to perform the "Disco medley." Matilda Wormwood is an extremely intelligent girl with a bright personality. However, her father Harry and mother Zinnia are irresponsible parents who would rather focus on their work and their leisure time than Matilda. Harry is a crooked used-car salesman. In 1961, a young Abraham Quintanilla and his band "The Dinos" are rejected by a white restaurant owner for an audition due to their "Whites Only" policy. They then perform to a Mexican audience at a nightclub called "Lerma's", but a riot ensues when they sing "We Belong Together" and the band is forced to flee. At the age of four, after her father refuses to buy her a book, Matilda starts visiting the library. She absorbs knowledge like a sponge, but her bookishness damages her relationship with her father. After being tormented by her father, she sets two revenges on him: she bleaches his hair from black to blonde by replacing his hair oil with peroxide, and she glues her father’s hat on, on the day when her father demonstrates his motoring abilities to Matilda’s brother, Michael, who is just bad as Matilda’s parents. The pranks make Matilda’s father so angry that he tears up Matilda’s library book. But when he forces her to watch TV with the rest of the family, she unintentionally makes the TV explode, the first sign she has mental powers (though her parents blame the TV). In 1981, Abraham is married to Marcela Samora and now has three kids. When his daughter Selena (Rebecca Lee Meza) sings with him while he is playing the guitar one day, he is amazed by her singing voice and decides to manage a band called "Selena y los Dinos" with Selena as the lead singer, and his son A.B. (Rafael Tamayo, Jacob Vargas) on bass, and his other daughter Suzette (Victoria Elena Flores, Jackie Guerra) on drums. He soon opens a restaurant for people to eat at and there Selena sings in front of the customers, and is warmly received. Unfortunately, the Quintanilla family goes bankrupt and lose the restaurant. They move toCorpus Christi, Texas to live with Abraham's brother. There, Selena performs at a carnival and is poorly received, but one day, while the family is on the beach Marcela hears a song on the radio and teaches Selena about a rhythm called Cumbia, which helps her and her band become more popular. The next day, Matilda’s father enrolls her at Crunchem Hall Elementary School, where the children are terrorized by the school’s principal, a former athlete named Miss Agatha Trunchbull Miss Trunchbull also is Harry's customer at his car shop, Wormwood Motors. After being told stories about Miss Trunchbull by Lavender and Hortensia Matilda realizes that she’s in a bad situation. This is reinforced as Miss Trunchbull hammer-throws one of the students, Amanda Thripp. In 1989, Selena (now played by Jennifer Lopez) surprises her father when she wears and creates her first bustier. He gets upset, but Selena convinces him that "it's a cool thing." Selena meets a guitarist, Chris Perez, who after joining the band, develops a friendship with Selena. Abraham does not approve of Chris after his former rock band members trash a hotel suite even though he greatly helped in making music for the band. While Selena performs in Monterrey, Mexico, the crowd gets wild. Selena calms them down by singing her hit "Como La Flor". Chris and Selena's friendships grows into love and when Abraham catches them hugging on their tour bus, Big Bertha, he fires Chris from the band and threatens a heartbroken Selena that if she continues seeing him, he will disband the Dinos. Luckily, Matilda’s new teacher, Miss Jennifer Honey is a kind woman, and Matilda's classmates like her. Matilda tells her class she got her knowledge by reading. After Matilda solves a difficult math question, Miss Honey tells Miss Trunchbull about Matilda’s intelligence, but Miss Trunchbull does not pay attention. Miss Honey tries to tell Matilda’s parents, but clearly they do not care about Matilda’s education or anything else about her. Meanwhile, Matilda notices two FBI agents watching the family to catch her father using stolen or inferior parts in his used-car shop. Matilda tells her parents about the FBI agents but they do not take her seriously, the agents having already fooled them into thinking they are speedboat salesmen. One day at school, Matilda is locked up in "the chokey" (a small closet used as a dungeon) by Miss Trunchbull as a way of revenge against her father when her car goes faulty, but is freed by Miss Honey. After Miss Trunchbull torments several of the students in Matilda's class, Lavender plays a prank on her by putting a newt in the water Miss Trunchbull is about to drink. The newt leaps onto Miss Trunchbull, to the class's amusement and her consternation. Matilda later confesses to Miss Honey that she actually made the newt jump at Miss Trunchbull by making the glass tip with her mental powers. Matilda tries to demonstrate her powers to Miss Honey, but she fails to do so. Miss Honey invites Matilda for a cup of tea in her cottage, but as they get to the cottage, Miss Honey reveals her dark secret: when Miss Honey was only two years old, her mother died and a cruel aunt, Miss Trunchbull herself, came to take care of her. When Miss Honey was five, her wealthy physician father died, apparently committing suicide. Miss Honey shows Matilda her old luxurious house, which Miss Trunchbull took over after Miss Honey's father's death. Miss Honey also reveals that her father used to share his chocolates with Miss Honey, before his death, and also she used to have a doll, Liccy. Miss Trunchbull is out, so they enter to retrieve the doll, but Miss Trunchbull returns after her car breaks down again. The scene becomes a cat-and-mouse chase, with Matilda and Miss Honey finally escaping the house through the basement. Exhausted and out of breath, Miss Honey asks Matilda to promise never go back to the house again. Matilda goes back to her house in the middle of a row between her parents, caused by her father throwing the FBI agents, who were again posing as speedboat salesmen and being entertained by Zinnia, out of the house. Harry attempts to take his anger out on Matilda, but her powers manifest again and she locks him out of her room. Matilda soon learns to master her mental powers, her memories of being tormented by her family and Miss Trunchbull being her main drive. The FBI agents return and search the garage without a warrant while Matilda is alone, but Matilda outwits them with her powers by releasing the brakes of their car and pinching their videotape of evidence, which she throws in the bin. That night, she sneaks away to Trunchbull's house and telekinetically retrieves Liccy and two chocolates. She then plays sinister pranks on Trunchbull, including accelerating the clock hour by hour, flickering the lights, sending the portait of her into the fire, and replacing it with that of Miss Honey's father, Magnus. Matilda leaves, but her red hair ribbon blows away in the stormy wind. Miss Trunchbull attempts to flee in her car but stops when Matilda's ribbon gets caught in the window, and realises Matilda's presence. During one of Selena's live performances, Jose Behar (the head of EMI Latin) and his music associates tell Abraham that they want to make an English language album for Selena. Soon, Selena opens her first boutique called "Selena Etc.", which her fan-club president Yolanda Saldivar manages, and her album Selena Live! wins a Grammy Award for Best Mexican-American album. As 1995 begins, she starts recording her crossover album, and Saldivar gives her a friendship ring, lying that it was only from her when it was really a gift from Selena's staff and Saldivar. The next day at school, Matilda gives Miss Honey her doll and a chocolate and demonstrates her powers before Miss Trunchbull and the class arrive. Miss Trunchbull lines the class up, claiming that someone in the room broke into her house, producing the red ribbon. She threatens Matilda with the chokey and Miss Honey attempts to take responsibility. Miss Trunchbull grabs her arm, threatening to break it again, and Miss Honey finally stands up to her, calling her "Aunt Trunchbull" to the class' shock. Matilda then begins to spook Miss Trunchbull again, this time by writing a threatening message on the chalkboard from "Magnus", ordering her to give Miss Honey her house and money and then to leave or else, at the same time hinting that it was Miss Trunchbull who murdered Magnus and made it look like a suicide in order to get his house and assets. She pelts her with erasers, mentally flies a boy whom Trunchbull throws out the window back safely, and spins her around on the globe. Miss Trunchbull spots Lavender and attempts to rush her, but Matilda lifts her safely out of the way. The rest of the students, alerted by the noise, peek out of their classes to see Miss Trunchbull being pelted by lunches, which they victoriously join in on. Miss Trunchbull runs out to her car and leaves town for good. Later on, Miss Honey and Matilda are having tea at the mansion when the Wormwoods arrive, claiming that they are being chased by the FBI agents and are leaving for Guam. Matilda protests and wants to stay with Miss Honey, who tells the Wormwoods that she loves Matilda and is willing to adopt her. For the first time, Harry and Zinnia realise how much they love their daughter, but decide to let her stay with Miss Honey, and part ways with Matilda on better terms. Matilda's family manages to escape to Guam, while Matilda lives a happy childhood with Miss Honey, who herself becomes the headmistress of Crunchem Hall and boosts its popularity to the point that an upper school is added. Later, Selena finds out from Abraham that Yolanda was stealing money from the fan club and a lot of business records have gone missing. Abraham, Selena, and Suzette confront Yolanda about the evidence, but she denies taking anything from Selena at all. Selena continues to achieve fame and her concert at the Houston Astrodome on February 26 attracts a record breaking crowd of 65,000. However, just one month later, on March 31, she is shot and killed by Yolanda Saldivar. Saldivar is arrested after a brief standoff while Selena's fans, friends, and family are left grieving over her death. The film ends with footage of the real Selena while the song "Dreaming of You" plays. Cast * Jennifer Lopez as Selena Quintanilla-Pérez * Mara Wilson as Matilda Wormwood * Jackie Guerra as Suzette Quintanilla * Constance Marie as Marcella Quintanilla * Alexandra Meneses as Sara * Jon Seda as Chris Pérez * Edward James Olmos as Abraham Quintanilla Jr. * Embeth Davidtz as Jennifer Honey * Danny DeVito as Harry Wormwood. DeVito also served as the narrator. * Rhea Perlman as Zinnia Wormwood * Pam Ferris as Agatha Trunchbull * Brian Levinson as Michael "Mikey" Wormwood * Jacob Vargas as A.B. Quintanilla * Lupe Ontiveros as Yolanda Saldívar * Pete Astudillo as himself, Dinos 1990s * Ruben Gonzalez as Joe Ojeda * Rebecca Lee Meza as Young Selena * Selena Quintanilla-Pérez as Herself (singing voice) (archive footage) * Victoria Elena Flores as Young Suzette * Rafael Tamayo as Young A.B. * Panchito Gomez as Young Abraham * Seidy López as Deborah * Ricky Vela as himself, Dinos 1990s * Don Shelton as himself, Dinos 1990s * Paul Reubens as FBI Agent Bob * Tracey Walter as FBI Agent Bill * Kiami Davael as Lavender * Jacqueline Steiger as Amanda Thripp * Kira Spencer Hesser as Hortensia * Jimmy Karz as Bruce Bogtrotter * Jean Speegle Howard as Mrs. Phelps * Marion Dugan as Cookie * Emily Eby as Maggie * Jon Lovitz as Mickey on The Million Dollar Sticky (uncredited) Category:1997 films Category:Selena Category:1990s biographical films Category:1990s drama films Category:1990s musical films Category:American films Category:American biographical films Category:Biographical films about singers Category:American musical drama films Category:English-language films Category:Spanish-language films Category:Films scored by Dave Grusin Category:Films directed by Gregory Nava Category:Films based on actual events Category:Films based on biographies Category:Films set in Texas Category:Films set in the 1960s Category:Films set in 1961 Category:Films set in the 1970s Category:Films set in the 1980s Category:Films set in 1981 Category:Films set in the 1990s Category:Films set in 1995 Category:Films shot in Mexico Category:Films shot in Texas Category:Films shot in San Antonio Category:Mexican-American films Category:Musical films based on actual events Category:Selena video albums Category:Warner Bros. films Category:Films about murder Category:Movies Spoofs Category:Movie Spoofs Category:Movie-spoof Category:Movies Spoof Category:R-Rated Movies Category:R-Rated Films